Educational and Psychological Studies
Research, Measurement & EvaluationM.S.Ed.
The RME M.S. Ed. program is guided by the following vision and mission statements:
The vision of the RME program is to be a central part of “putting methods into practice” in the social sciences and education.
The mission of the RME M.S.Ed. program is to (a) promote and advance quantitative methodology in social sciences, and (b) provide students with the requisite training for them to become high-quality researchers, data analysts, research coordinators, and measurement advisors in a variety of industrial and academic setting.
The objective of the Research, Measurement, and Evaluation (RME) program is to train individuals to become experts in the research methodology, measurement, and statistics used in conducting applied research, evaluations, and assessments related to educational, psychological, and health outcomes.
As a STEM Designated Degree Program, the RME M.S.Ed. program aims to train students in research methodology, relevant statistical and measurement analyses, and statistical software required for data management and statistical analyses relevant to research and evaluations conducted in educational, psychological, health, and human service environments.
To accomplish this goal, our curriculum provides students sufficient training in the relevant methodologies and statistical software through coursework and field experience. We provide a variety of courses that cover basic descriptive and inferential statistics, the general linear models, multivariate statistics, structural equation modeling, multilevel modeling, psychometric theory, data management, and statistical programming using R, SPSS, SAS, or Mplus.
As an interdisciplinary program, our courses focus on the application of quantitative methods to solve real-world problems so that the theoretical knowledge and practical skills obtained in the classroom settings can be directly applied to the field work. The majority of courses related to statistics, measurement, and data management are delivered in the computer labs whereby students are actively engaged in using relevant statistical software to conduct the desired analyses.
Students entering the M.S.Ed. program are expected to have an understanding of simple algebra, but are not required to have any specific background in mathematics or statistics. Students from a wide range of disciplines are encouraged to apply. The applied nature of the statistics coursework ensures that necessary mathematical operations are limited to simple algebra. No specific expertise in higher mathematical content areas (such as calculus) is required. As a result, students entering the program come from a wide range of disciplines. The graduates and current master students enrolled in the M.S.Ed. program have bachelor degrees in education, psychology, sociology, public health, and other social sciences.
Career Outcomes
After completing the M.S.Ed. in RME program, individuals have the necessary skills to be successfully employed in positions such as data analyst, test director, research analyst, research coordinator, methodology consultant, and measurement specialist in a variety of professional settings such as federal and state agencies, school districts, universities and agencies conducting publicly and privately funded research projects related to education and other behavioral sciences, private corporations, and non-profit organizations conducting research studies and evaluations. Data-driven decision-making and accountability is central to education, health care, and other human services. There is widespread demand for individuals trained in the collection and analysis of data related to educational effectiveness, health outcomes, and human service programs. Individuals with an M.S.Ed. are well-prepared to meet this demand. Upon graduation, student also often continue to pursue their doctoral degrees in education and psychology.
Below is a list of positions our alumni have held upon their graduation in the last four years:
- PhD student in Education, Methodology, Measurement and Analysis at the University of Central Florida
- Technology Transfer Coordinator, University of Miami
- PhD student in Health Policy and Management at the Florida International University
- Research Analyst at OutMatch HCM in Texas.
- Sr. Analyst at Worldmedia Interactive in Miami, FL
- PhD student in Psychology at the Florida International University in Miami, FL
- PhD student in the Department of Management at the University of Miami
- PhD student in Psychology at the University of Georgia
- PhD student in Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation at the University of Maryland
- Analytics Advisor in the Decision Analytics and Information Management Team at the Shelby County Public Schools in Memphis, TN.
We offer a high-prestigious Ph.D. program in RME for advanced students to continue their training and research in this field. Outstanding graduates from the M.S.Ed. program may receive tuition waiver, scholarship, or assistantship in our continued Ph.D. program
Program Requirements
Requirements for Admission
Students who have scores lower than the minimum specified below may be considered given outstanding personal achievements, backgrounds, and academic goals. We value the diversity among student backgrounds and experiences. Your personal statement is an opportunity for you to convey to the faculty a more holistic view of your strengths and potential contributions to the program. We encourage all students, particularly those from underrepresented and historically marginalized groups to apply.
Admission to the Master of Science in Education is based on the following:
- Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. The preferred undergraduate GPA for admittance to the program is 3.0.
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Scores
- Three letters of recommendation
- A personal statement describing
- the personal characteristics relevant to training in educational and psychological research, measurement, and statistics,
- previous experience in educational and psychological research,
- reasons for applyng the program,
- and career goals upon graduation.
- TOEFL or IELTS Scores (for international students)
Applications are accepted for fall admission only.
Required Coursework
The program requires a minimum of 30 credit hours, which are typically completed as ten 3-credit courses. Some, but not all, of the courses are offered in the evening. The curriculum of the Research, Measurement, and Evaluation M.S.Ed. program is structured around three components:
- Core Courses (24 credits, 8 courses of 3 credits each)
- EPS 700 Quantitative Methods I
- EPS 701 Introduction to Research Methods
- EPS 705 Measurement and Psychometric Theory
- EPS 708 An Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling for Multivariable Data
- EPS 702 Quantitative Methods II
- EPS 703 Applied Multivariate Statistics
- EPS 704 Computer Applications in Educational and Behavioral Science Research
- EPS 709 Introduction to Multilevel Modeling
- Elective courses (6 credits)
Some of the potential courses offered in the School of Education and Human Development for electives are the following:
- EPS 699 Advanced Individual Study
- EPS 706 Categorical Data Analysis
- EPS 707 Item Response Theory
- EPS 710 Meta-analytic methods for research synthesis.
- EPS 711 Advanced Topics in Research, Measurement, and Evaluation
- EPS 712 Field Experience in Educational Research
- EPS 714 Qualitative Methods I
- EPS 715 Qualitative Methods II: Case Studies and Grounded Theory
- EPS 716 Qualitative Methods II: Interviews and Content Analysis
- MAS 648: Machine Learning for Data Analytics I
- MAS 651: Machine Learning for Data Analytics II
- MAS 681: Statistical Machine Learning
- MAS 640: Applied time Series Analysis and Forecasting
- MAS 635: Design of Experiments
- BST 640: Modern Numerical Multivariate Methods
- BST 670: Bayes Data Analysis: Theory and Computing
- BST 675: Intermediate Probability
- BST 680: Advanced Statistical Theory
- A written comprehensive exam
Each student must successfully pass a comprehensive exam that covers the selected content of your courses. This exam assesses the student’s competency in these core areas of research methodology and use of statistical software. Once you complete 24 credits in the program, you are responsible for talking to your academic advisor and scheduling the dates for comprehensive examination. Comprehensive examination consists of three sections that cover the following areas of the applied statistics and measurement:
- Part I: Research Methods and Introduction to Statistics
- Part II: Intermediate Statistics
- Part III: Measurement and Advanced Statistics
Each of the RME faculty members will be responsible for creating questions and scoring your answers for specific section(s) of your comprehensive examination. Once you finalize your dates for the comprehensive examination, you can get specific information regarding format, content, and grading of each section by consulting with RME faculty members. The University policy states that the faculty decides if the student passes or fails. The faculty has the right to decide if a student who failed is allowed to retake the exam.
Within one month after your comprehensive examination, you will receive a mail that informs you of an outcome of your comprehensive examinations in the following categories:- Pass, which is defined as scoring B+ or greater on the examination.
- Failure is defined as scoring below B+ on the examination
A typical program of study can be found below:
Fall Spring Summer 1st Year EPS 700
EPS 701
EPS 705EPS 702
ElectiveEPS 703
EPS 7042nd Year EPS 708
EPS 709Elective
Comprehensive
Financial
All applicants to the RME Ms.Ed. program are automatically considered for a merit-based tuition scholarship which covers up to 30 credits of course work at the rate of 25% or 50%. At the rate of 2019-20 rate of $2,100 per credit, this scholarship could be worth up to $15,750 or $31,500. The number of tuition scholarships is limited every year and very competitive. If a student meets the requirement for admission to the program, RME faculty decides whether or not to award the student with a tuition scholarship based on student’s GPA, GRE scores, and personal achievement and awards.
The School of Education and Human Development will process scholarship monies at the rate above so as to match the number of credits that you enroll in each term. You will remain responsible for paying all remaining tuition, relevant student fees, health insurance, books and course supplies. Please note the conditions that govern this scholarship:
- The School of Education and Human Development has a five-year limit on providing financial assistance to all graduate students. This tuition scholarship will expire five years after you have enrolled in your first course as a UM graduate student.
- You must remain in good standing with a GPA at or above 3.0 and record that is largely free of incomplete course grades.
- Tuition scholarships are limited to courses on your approved program of study. They may not be used for courses that do not appear on that program.
- Tuition scholarships may not be used to retake courses under any conditions, including but not limited to courses for which you may recieve a permanent grade of Incomplete or a grade requiring a course retake.
- You will be responsible for tuition for courses that take you beyond the above credit limits or that are after five years have passed since your first course. Specifically, you will need to pay tuition for all credits that exceed the amount of credits covered by this scholarship and that you may be required to enroll in so as to meet the Graduate School’s continuous enrollment requirements.
A complete list of resources for obtaining other types of fellowships, scholarships, and loans can be found on the Graduate School website under Financial Aid and Funding Opportunities
Testimonials
Immediately upon graduation from the RME program, I accepted a position as Analytics Advisor with Shelby County Schools in Memphis, Tennessee with the Decision Analytics & Information Management team. In my current role, I serve a diverse student population of over 100,000 students across more than 120 schools. It is my team's responsibility to partner with units across the district from human resources to academic operations in order to harness millions of rows of disparate data, extract and transform that data, analyze it, and provide it back to end users in way allows for clear, actionable, student-focused decision making.
The RME program provided me with a more comprehensive prospective when approaching data, imparted me the skills to confidently perform advanced statistical analysis, expanded my ability to engage in and advise on collection methodology, and in general enhanced my ability to communicate data more effectively. For those interested in quantitative research, the program is invaluable, and pursuing it is a decision well worth the time and effort."
I was very nervous to start my journey as a graduate student in the RME program, but after orientation where I met my professor and colleagues, I felt excited to dive into the program. Everyone at the University and in my program was very welcoming, and I knew I made the right decision. My cohort was one of my favorite aspects of the RME Master’s program; we encouraged and supported each other. Also, the support from my Advisor and Professors helped me get through challenges and overcome obstacles.
Today, in addition to being an alumni of the RME Master’s Program, I am also a Research Analyst at OutMatch HCM in Dallas, Texas. In my position, I assist clients in creating hiring profiles and assessments for seeking new talent. I also develop content for cognitive ability modules used to assess skills for candidates seeking employment.
My advice to incoming students would be too explore internships, graduate assistantships, and independent studies opportunities, so you are able to put what you are learning in the classroom into real-life situations. This will help you understand your coursework in more detail, and you will have the ability to discuss obstacles that may arise in real world situations with your advisor, professors, and colleagues. I also would recommend taking advantage of your Professor’s office hours and interacting with your cohort. There is value of being a part of a great institution with bright minds and learning from them is a gift.
After completing the M.S.Ed in Research, Measurement, and Evaluation (RME) at the University of Miami’s School of Education and Human Development, Richard Muñoz went on towards pursuing a Research Coordinator administrative position at Florida International University (FIU). It was there that he soon applied and transitioned into his present role as a PhD student in Health Policy Management with a concentration in Health Systems Research at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work at FIU. There, he has collaborated with faculty members from FIU and other universities, and research epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a psychometric research paper pending publication, along with collaborating with FIU faculty and physicians and staff from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Miami branch towards his dissertational research goals involving the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.
When speaking about his experience at the University of Miami’s Research, Measurement, and Evaluation program, he can be quoted saying the following:
“The knowledge, experience, and wisdom gained after completion of my degree launched my professional and academic career into the stratosphere. Every opportunity I intentionally pursued, I acquired, and that was largely due to my time pursuing the RME M.S.Ed. Between the well-structured and explained quantitative curriculum, guided instruction and practical applications with a plethora of statistical software, and exposure to dynamic and cutting-edge research and statistical methodologies through guest lectures facilitated by the program’s faculty, the skills and insights gained from pursuing this degree are not just comparatively ‘next-to-none,’ but I argue is the quintessential degree to pursue in South Florida towards the trajectory of academic and professional pursuits involving educational and psychological research.”
After receiving my bachelors in psychology from the University of Miami, I was interested in pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology. While working in various research labs to prepare for graduate school, I came across the RME master’s program. I recognized the invaluable opportunity that the RME program could provide to better prepare me, given the diversity in courses offered and expertise of faculty members.
Today, I’m an alumnus of the RME master’s program and currently a 3rd year doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at Florida International University. My research interest broadly focuses on the identification and understanding of early relational and contextual factors that influence young children’s socioemotional development and academic achievement. My primary interest is in promoting school readiness among young children with disruptive behavior problems and early learning deficits, specifically for ethnically and linguistically diverse children. I’m also interested in translating research to practice through the implementation and evaluation of school-based interventions.
Overall, the RME program afforded me with one of the greatest learning opportunities and served as the foundation to jump-start my career by providing me with the knowledge and skills to conduct high-quality quantitative research.
After completing her master’s degree in Research, Measurement, and Evaluation (RME) at the University of Miami, Violeta J. Rodriguez went on to pursue a PhD Clinical Psychology at the University of Georgia under a Ford Foundation Fellowship, administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She is also Senior Research Associate in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of Miami School of Medicine, where she is involved statistical analysis of data derived from multi-site clinical trials on HIV prevention funded by the National Institutes of Health.
When asked about her experience at the University of Miami’s Research, Measurement, and Evaluation program, Violeta says, “The completion of my master’s at the University of Miami RME program opened up many opportunities for me professionally and academically. My training in psychometrics in the program provided me a strong foundation for scale development and validation, and scale refinement in transcultural and multicultural research. I also gained experience in research design, statistical analysis, and reporting of results, skills that I was able to directly apply to manuscripts that have been published in scholarly journals.”
Faculty
Program Director
Soyeon Ahn
Chair, Professor & Program Director, Research, Measurement, and Evaluation (RME) Program
For Admission Inquiries, contact:
Karina Rodriguez
Applicant Journey Representative
305-284-7343
sehd_admission@miami.edu
For Application Process Questions, contact:
Graduate Studies Office
soegradadmissions@miami.edu